The Lavender Lie; Lesbians, Gays, and Bisexuals of Silent Hollywood

The Lavender Lie;

 Lesbians, Gays, and Bisexuals of Silent Hollywood

Let me just start this post with an explanation for my title; back in the twenties and thirties, everything that we today would call either gay or queer was called lavender. So the title of this post is referring to the whitewashing studios and stars did to their personalities to make them more acceptable for the (rather homophobic) public. Being a very liberal person, I see nothing wrong with anyone's sexual orientation; so this post isn't meant as anything more than just a fun-filled romp through a time when things weren't as black and white as we thought...



Clara Bow (left) kissing a female costar in the 1922 film "Maytime"

Depictions of Gays In Silent Film

From the very beginning of Hollywood, gays were shown in film. though they were never out and out referred to as gay or even as masculine or effeminate. All blurring of "Normal" sexuality was done strictly through demeanor and movement, leaving the audience with only an implication. For the first decade of the century, you could only spot a hint of "gender indiscretion", this isn't really that surprising, the world was still reeling from the Victorian era. However, a notable exception would be the Georges Méliès 1904 film "The Impossible Voyage", which contains two cross dressing characters, one a wealthy woman (played by a man) and a young male servant (played by a woman).

Though only alluded to when center stage, gays were welcomed when doing crowd scenes. Almost every epic film of the 1910's and twenties included a gay couple or a bisexual orgy. I wouldn't say these depictions were helpful for the images of gays everywhere, but it was just as beneficial as whitewashing. Here are some notable crowd scenes with gay appearances; The follies scene in 1927's "Wings" passes by a lesbian couple when zooming in to focus on Charles Buddy Rodgers, The image of Babylon in "Intolerance" (1916) contains multiple homosexual as well as heterosexual couples, and "The Ten Commandments" (1923) contains another wild bisexual orgy (yes folks, old Hollywood was a lot more frisky than we usually fancy).

When we stride into the nineteen tens, we have some stars like Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle and Charlie Chaplin going as far as appearing in drag (in 1914's "The Masquerader") But by all accounts, it is still just as difficult to develop a gay character on the screen as it was pre 1910.

When we get to the twenties, the flood gates open. Victorian Ideals are flung aside as it becomes more popular to break the rules rather than maintain them. In America, gays in films, although more prevalent, still continue to be an undercurrent. Some notable examples of this would be; "Ben-Hur" with a homosexual undercurrent between Messula and Judah, "Flesh and the Devil" with more undertones between Leo and Ulrich, and "Camille" with lesbian (if "morocco"-esque) kiss between Margarite and Nichette.

1920's Europe is a different story, however. By 1919, there is already a film out by the name of "Different from the Others", all about homosexuality. I tried watching it and must say, that it has much more modern ideas than all other films of the day, and a better plot line than most films of today! I loved it! Like "Different from the Others", "Sex in Chains", another gay film, was made in Germany. Wiemar Germany was a mess in the tens and twenties, but this led to some of the greatest art and artists in German history (Anita Berber, G.W. Pabst, Brigitte Helm, Marlene Dietrich, ect.).

Towards the end of the twenties, 1928 to be exact, we had the first gay character in a major film. The famous "Pandora's Box" finally brought us out of a homophobic medieval age in cinema and into an age of accepting enlightenment with the lesbian Countess Augusta played by Alice Roberts. Everything was finally coming to a head, then sound came...



Alla Nazimova and Charles Bryant, who were in a "Lavender Marriage" from 1912 to 1915

Treatment of Gays in Silent Hollywood

Then, as now, gays were supported in public by the same people who bad mouthed them in private. Studios would look the other way when the stars were making money, but one slip in the box office, and you might as well dig your own grave. In the early days, they would pair up two gay stars (such as Nazimova and Bryant) and marry them in what was deemed a lavender marriage. that way, the husband could go have a "Night out with the boys" while the wife could spend time with her "Lady friends" and as long as the two ended up under the same roof at the end of the day, they were fine.

This sexual deviance was one of the instinctual characteristics of the vamp, a mysterious woman, who wanted control, money, and sex. These Women were made iconic by stars like Theda Bara and Alla Nazimova, who regularly bent the line between normal, and so much more.

The sad fact of being gay in Hollywood is that you were only seen as a means to an end. You were used when you were use full, and then thrown away when something better and safer hit the market. It was tragic and ended many a promising career, but that was the way it was.

I adore this photo

Fact and Fiction When it comes to Homosexual Hollywood

Books like "Hollywood Babylon" have been stirring up rumors of gay Hollywood for decades, I'm going to take a while a sort a few of the easy ones out. First the myths:

Myth #1: Ramon Novarro sent an art deco dildo to Rudolf Valentino. This is so false, there is no evidence of this ever happening, and even in my liberal mind, I think it's a slur on both of their names (I cannot imagine getting a dildo from an ex, or even my current partner... now a cereal killer, maybe).

Myth #2: Alla Nazimova used an all gay cast when filming "Salome". Although most of the cast was gay, not all of it was. I think this was probably some frantic Conservative's view on the situation. They probably walked in and thought "I see fifteen gay people, since homosexuality is a treatable, but highly contagious, disease, it must have spread to the entire cast!"

Myth #3: Clara Bow was bisexual. As anyone who knew her could tell you, Clara Bow as a straight as a door post, her friend Tui was lesbian. When she confronted Clara about it, Clara had know idea lesbians existed.

Myth #4: Garbo had an affair with Dietrich. Although part of me wishes it were true, this is false. Garbo said she slept with Dietrich while filming "Joyless Street", but upon further research, we realize she only slept with someone who looked like Dietrich.

Here are some facts about gay Hollywood that I bet you didn't know:

Fact #1: Joan Crawford wanted to enter into a lavender marriage with Will Haines. Will later admitted this in an interview, I think it shows how deep their friendship was.

Fact #2: Garbo's mentor, Mauritz Stiller, was Gay. Although many at the time thought he was involved with Garbo, it turns out he was gay.

Fact #3: Louise Brooks and Garbo did hook up. I know, so much beauty in one place makes me want to throw up (in a good way)

Ramon and a friend

Some Lavender Hollywood you might know

Here is a list of Gay and Lesbian stars you might like. First lets start with the Gays:

-Ramon Novarro

-Will Haines

-Edmund Lowe

-Charles Bryant

-Clifton Webb

-Gilbert Roland 

-F.W. Murnau

-George Cukor 

-Jean Cocteau

Now for the Lesbians:

-Tallulah Bankhead

-Greta Garbo

-Joan Crawford

-Alla Nazimova

-Marlene Dietrich

-Lilyan Tashman

-Louise Brooks

-Dorothy Arzner

The Sisters G.

Before you Go...

Before you either go research these wonderful "lavender" stars or write an angry comment saying that one night with someone of the same gender doesn't make you straight or gay, understand that I am using broad terms and stereo types, mainly because that's all I have to go off, so few people were brave enough to "come out" that I have to rely on these sweeping terms to paint a picture at all. Anywho, hope you all enjoyed our ride! I know I did! Feel free to click on any of the links above, most will take you to the film I'm referring to on YouTube, where you can watch it free (free I say!), the rest will take you to other silent film blogs with articles on what I'm referring to. So have fun, explore, and, dare I say it, be GAY!